Tag Archives: onion

Part of my cultural background is Polish, and I love it when my mother cooks Kielbasa sausage on a weekend morning. So why not have it for lunch or dinner, too? This is a spicy pasta salad that combines the classic summer flavors of sausage, peppers, and onion. Hope you enjoy, as I have been this week!

It is a parody on “Fifty Shades of Grey,” but is all about chicken. It takes the tone of the original book, but if you read closely, actually has chicken recipes in it, too! It is very funny to read…spices up your time in the kitchen. I recently made a recipe out of it that was delicious, called Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet and Sour Onions. I made a few personal changes (like using half the chicken and onion amounts, using chicken broth instead of wine, and using ground cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick), but loved the overall flavor. I will definitely make this again.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet and Sour Onions

Pieces:

one half pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

one half of a sweet onion, diced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. (vegan) butter

(I added 1 tsp. hot honey mustard, too)

Process:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the chicken with the garlic, salt, and pepper.

In a saucepan, simmer the onion, chicken broth, bay leaf, cinnamon about 15-20 minutes, until liquid has almost evaporated.

Add the honey and butter (and hot honey mustard).

Spoon the mixture over the chicken and bake for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. (Although next time, I would probably simmer the chicken in the onion mixture over the stove, covering with a lid until done.)

Summer. Grilling. BBQ. Some of my favorite things! I would probably say that BBQ sauce is my favorite condiment… I even choose BBQ sauce over ketchup for my French fries. Here is an easy and different mashed potato side dish to complement any grilled summer meal!

BBQ Smashed Potatoes

Pieces:

8-10 small red potatoes

one quarter of a red onion, diced

salt and pepper to season

1 tsp. smoked paprika

2 tbsp. honey

one half cup of your favorite gluten free BBQ sauce

Process:

Wash and dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

Steam the potatoes just until fork tender, do not overcook.

Let the potatoes cool. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the potatoes into a casserole dish, and smash the potatoes roughly. Don’t mash until smooth; leave some texture.

My mother learned this recipe from my Nana and these potato pancakes have marked many of my dinners growing up. They are easy to make, delicious, and go with practically any meal. For breakfast with a side of bacon. For dinner topped with sour cream and chives. Alongside a burger topped with ketchup. I actually can’t believe I haven’t posted them yet! To make them even heartier for dinner, you can add shredded zucchini or carrots.

Shredded Potato Oh My Goodness

Pieces:

4 large white potatoes

1 yellow onion

1 beaten egg

2 tbsp. gluten free flour

salt and pepper to taste

2-4 tbsp. olive oil for frying

Process:

Peel the potatoes.

Grate the potatoes and onion into a large bowl (you can use a large cheese grater).

Squeeze the potatoes and onions with paper towels until dry. This step is critical!

I love cooking and spending time in the kitchen, but sometimes weeknights are hard even for someone who loves to cook! Stir fries are always quick and easy, and this one is particularly flavorful. I made it vegetarian, but you can add your favorite protein… cubed chicken, steak, or tofu. Also, these are my favorite flavors, but feel free to create your own and enjoy! Just make sure the veggies don’t get too mushy… that can totally ruin a flavorful stir fry. This recipe makes several meals.

Ginger, Orange, and Cashew Stir Fry

Pieces:

one cup white rice, cooked to package directions

3 stalks celery, cut into small slivers

3 carrots, peeled and cut into small rounds

one quarter cup diced white onion

1 tbsp. olive oil

one red pepper, sliced into thin strips

one green pepper, sliced into thin strips

one cup frozen snap peas

one cup frozen green peas

one cup frozen corn

one quarter cup gluten free soy sauce

3 tbsp. ground ginger

2 tbsp. honey

4 tbsp. orange zest

one quarter cup chopped cashews

Process:

Cook rice according to package directions.

While rice is cooking, add sliced celery, carrots, and onion to a large sauté pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Let them sweat for a few minutes and start to soften.

Add the red and green pepper strips and continue to sauté just until veggies are barely soft.

Add the snap peas, green peas, and corn.

Add the soy sauce, ginger, honey, and orange zest. Stir to combine. Continue stirring until well combined and heated through.

I had one of those crazy-get-home-late-and-don’t-know-what-to-make-for-dinner nights. So, I looked in the cabinets and settled on just plain gluten free pasta with tomato sauce. But then I looked a little deeper into the cabinets and decided to jazz it up a bit with some canned white beans, frozen spinach, and onion I had lying around. It turned out wonderfully delicious!

Pasta Floren-bean

Pieces:

one half box/bag of gluten free pasta (any size, any shape!)

one half bottle tomato sauce

one quarter of an onion, diced

2 cups frozen spinach

one can drained white beans

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano or parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Process:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté the diced onion in the olive oil over medium heat.

When the onion is tender, add the spinach and drained white beans. Sprinkle with dried oregano or parsley, and salt and pepper.

Continue to sauté until spinach is cooked through.

Add the jarred tomato sauce and stir to combine.

When the pasta is done and drained, add your floren-bean sauce to the pasta and serve hot!

I LOVE curry chicken… the kind from your favorite local Thai restaurant. I love the color, flavor, and the sauce that just goes perfectly over white rice. Here is my first attempt at my own version. Not perfect, but decent flavor. I want to try again soon… any suggestions are welcomed!

Curry Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk

Pieces:

4 chicken thighs

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

salt and pepper

one half of an onion, diced

5 tbsp. yellow curry powder

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. ginger

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen snap peas

2 cups frozen pepper strips

1 can lite coconut milk

1 tbsp. lime zest

Process:

In a large sauté pan, add the oil, rice vinegar, and diced onion on medium heat. Stir for a few minutes to get hot.

Add the chicken thighs. Season with salt and pepper. Crisp each side about 3 minutes, just to get the chicken browned.

Add the curry powder, chili powder, ginger, parsley, and brown sugar to evenly to each side of the chicken.

I was actually in the mood for something hearty this weekend as the weather started to cool down (even though I am in total denial about summer ending). So, I decided to make turkey meatloaf, and add the heartiness of bacon to it. It was delicious! I know that meatloaf has a bad reputation, but this turned out really well. It is pretty healthy with the turkey meat, and the bacon added some flavor. I will definitely make it again. You could even make meatballs out of it if you wanted to.

Bacon and Onion Meatloaf

Pieces:

1 lb. ground turkey (or beef if you prefer)

one half of an onion, finely chopped

7 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces (I use kitchen scissors)

one half cup gluten free bread crumbs

1 egg and 1 egg white

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chopped garlic

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp. ketchup

2 tbsp. honey

Process:

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, onion, bacon, bread crumbs, eggs, paprika, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to combine the mixture, but don’t handle it too much or make it too dense by squeezing too hard.

Once combined, form it into a loaf shape.

Place the loaf into a shallow and greased pan.

Put the pan and loaf into the fridge for 10 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes. Halfway through baking, about 30 minutes in, drizzle the honey and ketchup on top of the loaf.

When cooked, take the pan out of the oven and let it sit for about 5-7 minutes.

As I get ready to move, I wanted to make a meal that would have leftovers I could grab in the middle of box packing and unpacking. So I made a hearty Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Risotto and it was delicious! I used kielbasa sausage for a smoky flavor, and a few different peppers for a pop of color. Hope you enjoy… and I will be back in a couple of weeks or so once these boxes start moving and I can cook again!

Cook the risotto rice according to package directions. I toast the rice first in the pan for just a minute, then add salt and pepper. Add the broth about a half cup at a time over low-medium heat, until it is all absorbed and the rice is cooked.

While the rice is cooking, chop the onion.

Saute the onion in a pan with 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add the sugar on top, and stir over low heat until the onion starts to caramelize.

When the onion is just about cooked, add the chopped peppers and other 1 tbsp. butter. Continue to saute.

When the peppers are just about cooked through, cut the kielbasa into bite sized pieces and add to the peppers and onions.

Saute just until the kielbasa is heated. (I use the fully cooked links, so I don’t have to worry about waiting for them to cook through.)

I usually eat half of an avocado and some gluten free granola with soy milk for breakfast. But I like to get a little more creative and involved on the weekends. I also try to eat one egg on the weekends, in hopes that my body will be “less” allergic to them in the future. I can handle one egg, but am scared to try more. So, with my one egg indulgence, I made a sausage and egg scramble that was scrumptious on this lazy Sunday morning!

Basil and Apple Sausage Scramble

Pieces:

one quarter cup onion, chopped

one tsp. vegan butter

salt and pepper, to taste

one chicken apple sausage (cooked), cut into small pieces

one egg

one half tsp. smoked paprika

2 tbsp. goat cheese

1 basil leaf, chopped

Process:

In a saute pan, add the onion, butter, and salt and pepper over medium heat. Saute until onion is soft.

Add the sausage and saute just another minute or two, until the sausage is browned.

Add the egg, and stir to get the egg scrambled and cooked. Reduce heat to low.